


What Are Best Friends For?

by astralpenguin



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Detroit, Gen, Phichit Chulanont is a Little Shit, Shoe Shopping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-12
Updated: 2017-01-12
Packaged: 2018-09-17 01:54:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9299033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astralpenguin/pseuds/astralpenguin
Summary: Phichit didn't realise how tattered they were until Yuuri asked him about themOrYuuri forces Phichit to get new shoes and very quickly regrets it





	

Phichit didn’t realise how tattered they were until Yuuri asked him about them.

They were getting changed after training when Yuuri said, “Do we need to get you some new shoes?”

“Huh?”

“Your shoes. The sole’s falling off the left one.”

Phichit glanced down at the shoe that he’d been in the process of pulling onto his foot.

Oh. The sole really was falling off. And the right one looked pretty bad too. How long had he had these again?

“Yeah,” he laughed, “I guess I do need a new pair. These’ll do for now though.”

“No, Phichit, you’ll say that and then it’ll be weeks at least before you actually go and get some.”

“No it won’t! I’ll do it soon, okay?”

Yuuri was right, of course.

Every day when Phichit put his 'shoes' on, Yuuri would remind him that he needed new ones. And every day Phichit would respond that he would soon, and that Yuuri didn’t have to worry about him that much because he was not a child and Yuuri was not his mother.

This didn’t stop him from gently reminding him. Or nagging, as Phichit would insist it was.

Their rinkmates noticed. It was difficult not to, seeing as they had almost the same conversation after practise every day. It got to the point that Phichit was _fairly_ certain that there was a betting pool. How long can Phichit go without getting new shoes?

It turned out the answer was ‘just over one month’.

Yuuri entered their shared room to see Phichit lying on his bed with his computer on his lap. The offending shoes were on the ground next to him.

Enough, Yuuri decided, was enough.

He walked up to Phichit and pushed his laptop shut.

“Hey! I was looking at-”

“It wasn’t school related. And we have something more important to do.”

“...What?”

“You need shoes that serve their actual purpose.” Phichit opened his mouth to complain, but Yuuri interrupted him. “No. We’re going now.”

Grumbling, Phichit admitted defeat.

Of course, he wasn’t going to make it easy. Yuuri had just said that Phichit was going to get new shoes. He never specified what _kind_ of shoes he was going to get.

And what are best friends for if not to annoy the hell out of each other?

So Phichit tried on all of the brightly coloured and ridiculous shoes he could. Highlights included, but weren’t limited to:

Neon green knee-high boots.

Light-up trainers that flashed a bright blue every time Phichit put his foot down.

And pink heels that were _way_ too high for him to be able to balance properly in. When he tried those on, Yuuri had to walk around the shop with him just so he could keep upright. By the time they got back round to their starting point they were both laughing so hard they could barely breath.

Phichit, being Phichit, took approximately a million selfies and a good number were uploaded to Instagram.

But as time passed he didn’t show any signs of making a decision.

Yuuri was having fun! Phichit even managed to talk him into trying on a couple of pairs. But they’d gone out for a _reason._ Phichit was going to get a new, functional pair of shoes even if it killed him!

Which is why, when Yuuri realised that there was only an hour left before the shop shut, he said, “You’re getting the next pair you try.”

He quickly realised that this was a grave mistake.

Later he would look back on this moment and wonder what possessed him to say that. He’d lived with Phichit for long enough to know that an instruction like _that_ would be taken advantage of. And how long had it taken to even get to the point where they were even looking for new shoes again? Honestly, Yuuri should have known better, and he paid the price for that lapse in judgement.

Not even two minutes after those poorly-thought-through words left Yuuri’s mouth, Phichit saw a pair of shoes that made his eyes light up.

“Yuuri,” he said, “I want those ones.”

Yuuri walked over to see what Phichit was looking at.

They were... Yellow. Very yellow. And had orange at the toes and black dots - clearly supposed to be eyes - at the ankle.

These were shoes with the face of a cartoon duck.

And they were _bright._

“Uh, sure? Try them on, first.” Yuuri decided not to complain. At least Phichit wouldn’t be wearing his _old_ ones anymore. He could get used to the sight of them. He was already in the process of making his peace with it. This was fine. Nothing was wrong. He hadn’t really expected Phichit to take this seriously anyway, so the exact appearance of the shoes didn’t even matter that much.

_QUACK!_

The sudden sound made both boys, and several nearby customers, nearly jump out of their skin.

“What was that?” Yuuri asked, although he had a terrible feeling that he already knew.

Gently, Phichit put his other foot onto the ground.

_Quack!_

It was quieter this time, but it definitely came from the shoe.

They both stared. Yuuri in horror. Phichit in...

Was that delight?

Phichit jumped. Everyone in the shop was silent as the massive _QUACK_ sound filled the room.

“They quack! Yuuri, the duck-shoes quack!” Phichit laughed, shifting his weight from one foot to another (as if Yuuri needed further demonstration).

“I can tell.”

“I love them. I’m getting them. Do you think the shop’ll let me wear them out?”

“I don’t think-”

But Yuuri didn’t get a chance to start pleading with him. He’d already rushed towards the tills, shoes quacking away as he ran.

Phichit was allowed to wear his new shoes out of the shop. The sales assistant either didn’t see or didn’t care about the silent message of _‘please don’t let him do this’_ that Yuuri tried to convey through his eyes.

So. Public transport. With an excitable Phichit and shoes that quacked while he walked.

Phichit was lucky that Yuuri loved him, or he would’ve left him in the shop and gone home alone. As it was, Yuuri just pretended not to know him whenever he spotted people looking at them.

Thankfully, Phichit took the shoes off as soon as they reached their room. He picked his computer back up, settled himself on his bed, and resumed whatever it was he’d been doing before Yuuri took him out.

And so the shoes were forgotten about.

Until the next morning.

Yuuri was sleeping late. Usually when Yuuri did this, which was more often than he’d be willing to admit, Phichit would end up having to drag his duvet off of him or, worse, having to drag Yuuri off his bed and onto the floor just to get him to wake up.

Of course, now he had a better idea.

He picked up the shoes from where he’d left them by the door and carried them over to Yuuri’s bed. Carefully, trying not to make a sound, he slid them on.

Then he jumped.

 

Phichit didn’t get a proper pair of shoes for three weeks. In that time he became a minor celebrity on campus, and people still sometimes referred to him as ‘duck-boy’ or something similar until he returned to Thailand. He loved it.

 

***

It was nearly his turn.

Yuuri knew, logically, that he’d do fine. He’d performed his short program in so many competitions by this point. No, it hadn’t gone as well as he would’ve liked in the Grand Prix Final, but he’d worked on it since then and had managed to land the jump plenty of times in practise!

But Victor wasn’t there with him.

The Russian Nationals were so close to the Japanese ones that it hadn’t been possible for them to physically be there to support one another. Yuuri knew that he’d be watching through a livestream, but it wasn’t the same. He wasn’t _there_.

So Yuuri was kinda freaking out.

He paced in the corridor next to the rink. Some other competitors were watching the small tv that was showing who was currently on the ice, but Yuuri tried to ignore them. None of them looked at him as he walked to the end and back, then again, and again.

“Yuuri!”

A voice startled him out of the pattern. He turned to find the source of it.

Phichit.

Of course. Victor couldn’t be in Japan, so Phichit had come instead. Yuuri had been so focused on Victor’s absence that for a moment he’d forgotten.

He tried to smile. “Hi.”

“You’re up soon. You ready?”

Yuuri hesitated, but nodded. Then he noticed the bag that Phichit had in his hand.

“What’s that?” He asked, pointing towards it.

“Oh, this?” Phichit held the bag up.

“Yeah, that.”

“It’s a bag.”

“Phichit.”

He laughed. “Okay, I’ll show you.” He held the bag open and out so that Yuuri could see.

Honestly, Yuuri had never expected to see the shoes again. He’d thought that Phichit must’ve got rid of them. They’d definitely not seen the light of day for at least a year.

And yet here they were.

Yuuri couldn’t help it, he started to laugh. Just being in the same room as those shoes made him think about happy (if only retroactively) memories. He was finding it difficult to stay panicked, and wasn’t about to try to maintain it.

He pulled Phichit close for a hug. “Thanks,” he said, “I really needed that.”

“I know. Now, I think you need to get out to the rink.”

“Yeah.” He pulled away and they both made their way to the ice.

Yuuri skated out to the centre, kissing his ring as he came to a stop. He saw Phichit on the sidelines. His phone was out already.

Yuuri nodded, and the music began to play.

**Author's Note:**

> this story happened bc i wanted to write something but didn't know what so i asked a couple of friends for prompts and they suggested doing something based off [this](http://julebug123.tumblr.com/post/145703628562/guys-a-few-days-ago-i-saw-these-two-guys-that-were) post. i think that it went pretty well : D
> 
> comments are the best thing ever !!!!
> 
> hmu on [tumblr](http://astralpenguin.tumblr.com/)


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